Beyond Politeness: A Systematic Review of Request Strategies and Rapport Management in Student-Lecturer Communication

Abstract

Request strategies, politeness and rapport management in student-lecturer interactions within academic contexts have received attention in pragmatics; however, findings on politeness and rapport management remain dispersed across studies. Five research questions guide the study by following (PRISMA) guidelines to ensure a rigorous and transparent selection and analysis process. Searches in Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar for the period (2010-2025) yielded 42 records that met the inclusion criteria. Conventionally indirect strategies are the most used by students to mitigate face-threatening acts, and they employ positive and negative politeness strategies. The review also reveals that the predominance of Brown and Levinson's politeness theory and Blum-Kulka et al.’s CCSARP model, alongside limited adoption of dynamic or relational interpersonal studies. Data collection is dominated by elicitation tools such as DCTs, while authentic and digital interaction remains underutilised. This paper advances theoretical understanding and pedagogical practice in intercultural academic communication. The main contribution of this review paper is the identification of the need for an integrated, multi-layered framework that combines genre analysis, rapport management, and relational work to offer a more comprehensive approach to exploring academic requests.